Monday, October 29, 2012

WWE Monday Night Raw 10/29/2012 Review

CM Punk came out with taped ribs and a limp. Punk came out and called many people in the crowd wrong for saying Punk couldn't win. He claimed he had nothing to do with the ref low blowing Ryback and that the ref, Brad Maddox, was incompetent. Punk said there will be no rematch until Mick Foley came down. Foley said he was here because of tradition but didn't dwell further.

Punk challenged for Survivor Series with Team Foley vs Team Punk. Foley accepted. Ryback then came down yelling Feed Me More.

JTG vs Ryback
Ryback did a Thesz press then slammed JTG's head off the ring. He hit a lariat then a Shellshock for the win. This was all squash.

Josh Mathews tried to interview Ryback. Ryback stole the mic and said he was not hurt but hungry. He said when he feasts again it will be on CM Punk then he then tried to do a "feed me Punk" chant but the crowd chanted "feed me more". Oops.

Wade Barrett vs CM Punk
This is a rematch from SD (See here - http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-10262012.html ). No entrance for Wade. Wade worked on Orton's shoulder that got injured by ADR in the beginning. Wade got tossed outside and we went to commercial. Nice storytelling there. Wade had Orton sitting on the middle rope then yakuza'd him right in the face. Orton made his comeback and hit the hanging DDT. Wade went for the souvenir but Orton hit the RKO out of nowhere for the win. Kind of short but decent. I'm really surprised they didn't go longer here but now Orton and Wade are 1-1. They mentioned that this is part of their rivalry so I guess another match will be coming. Rating:*1/2

Vickie asked AJ to explain AJ's actions but AJ said she didn't have an affair with Cena. Vickie asked AJ's biggest weakness and AJ said she gets too emotionally attached to her job. Vickie asked if it meant if she was crazy.

Daniel Bryan and Kane vs The Primetime Players
The PTP's were wearing light pink here. Team Hell No took control early with kicks from DB. Kane chokeslammed Young and threw Titus out until DB put the No Lock on Young for the win. Very very quick but a decent match here. The PTP's deserved better though. DB yelled "I'm the tag team champions" with both belts under Kane did his pose with the fire.

They replayed a clip from a month ago with Brad Maddox counting the pin on Punk from Cena even though Punk's foot was on the rope.

Vickie Guerrero came out. Cena then followed and Vickie showed footage of Cena in compromising situations with AJ Lee. Vickie then showed a picture of AJ and Cena eating dinner somewhere. Vickie called him pathetic and says he has an answer for everything. She then showed footage of AJ and Cena going into a elevator together. There was a small, "You are busted" chant which I enjoyed. Cena claimed he walked AJ to the door and that was it. Cena called AJ attractive then Dolph came down. Why is Vickie allowed to have relationships with wrestlers while AJ is not? Makes no sense. Vickie did it with both Dolph and Edge. Cena said never mention Cena and AJ in the same sentence again and pushed Dolph down.

They had an ROH commercial with an ad for the Pittsburgh show during the commercial. Good call but I don't know if pushing Eddie Edwards on it was a good call when they have WGTT, Rhino and others who people know. Probably going to be a rough sell with the bad weather.

Champion vs Champion - Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro
Cesaro got on the mic and said that America has the fattest children in the world then called Halloween a silly holiday where obese kids go door to door begging for more sweets. He said the kids dress up as fat power rangers.

Miz was on commentary here and Cole ripped him. He asked about what he did lately and brought up Kofi beating Miz three times.

Kofi hit a great John Woo style dropkick on Cesaro. They fought outside with Kofi throwing Cesaro at Miz. Miz then jumped on Kofi beating him up and causing the DQ. Cesaro joined in until R-Truth came out and evened things up. I thought they broke up?

Vickie went back to AJ in the back. She asked AJ just to admit that she cared for Cena but AJ said no because nothing happened. Vickie then rehired AJ but said if she lays a hand on Vickie, she won't be allowed near the the company again. She then signed AJ vs Beth Phoenix.

They did a Behind the Music with 3MB. They said they are all talented musicians and that Jinder has the rep of being the fun one. The host asked them about performing, but they said they can't perform in just a day's notice. They then showed their hand signals. JR called it one of the worst interviews ever.

Team CoBro - Santino Marella and Zack Ryder vs 3MB - Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal
The faces got in control early with the heels taking over soon after. There was a "woo woo woo, let's go Ryder" chant. Zack and Jinder both went over the top with a clothesline then the cobra came out. Drew distracted Santino and then got hit. In the meantime though Slater hit a Play of the Day for the win. This was short and not really bad at all.

AJ Lee vs Beth Phoenix
Beth is really huge compared to AJ. Beth was wearing a cool white and red outfit that I haven't seen before. AJ exploded on Beth, pounding on her and riding her back until she got tossed off. Beth rammed AJ's back on the apron outside for a nice thud. They got back in and AJ sneaked an inside cradle out of nowhere for the win. This didn't go three minutes. Really quick match that was too short to be bad. Vickie got on the mic after and said she demands more from AJ. She then gave her "one more chance to do better" and restarted the match after Beth hit her from behind. Beth hit the Glam Slam to get the win.

Sheamus came out, looking pretty happy even though he lost the title. He said nobody likes to lose but Show was the better man last night. He said he doesn't come to WWE to always win, but to fight and said last night was the greatest fight of his life. I've never seen anyone so excited about losing. Sheamus said the war isn't over, so if you wanted another Sheamus/Show match, here's your chance.

Big Show came out and said Sheamus is happy because he's hiding the truth. Show said if Sheamus tries him again it will be like Custer's last stand and Sheamus will be Custer. He called Sheamus a red-headed ginger snap and told Sheamus he can't beat him. Sheamus asked if Show ever saw a ginger snap then hit Show with White Noise. Yep, a rematch is coming. Kind of funny how HIAC is in the beginning of a feud and not at the end.

Cena told AJ he'd set this straight and for her to keep her chin up. Vickie was rubbing her hands behind them and told Beth Phoenix that she is fired because Vickie won't tolerate a performance like Beth's.

Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs The Rhodes Scholars
JR called Rey a "maestro at the low dropkick". Cara hit a pretty Asai Moonsault onto Cody and then Rey followed with a tope con giro on Sandow before we went to the break. We came back with the heels in control. Rey wore a halloween themed mask here with orange, black and white gear. Sandow hit an elbow of disdain for two. Cara hit a bunch of offense on Sandow and set Rey up for a 619. Cody escaped though and threw Rey into the post only to get hit with a corkscrew plancha. Sandow ended up hitting his straightjacket neckbreaker to get the win in a nice match.

Foley was in the back talking about WWE 13 with Kaitlyn until Heyman interrupted. Paul said that Punk put a target on Foley and Punk's goal is to victimize Foley.

The whole roster came out after a breast cancer commercial. Cena was in the ring with some members from the foundation. They gave a $1 million check to the breast cancer foundation.

Alberto Del Rio vs Justin Gabriel
ADR was wearing a sleeve on his right wrist. Cole called ADR's dad, "Dos Caros". They brought up Chael Sonnen approving of ADR's armbreaker. Lots of armwork here from ADR. Cole brought up how Maddox still hasn't been fired yet. Only in the WWE. ADR hit the armbreaker for the win in an extended squash.

CM Punk and Heyman came out. Heyman selected the team and took Miz, the Rhodes Scholars and ADR. No Brock.

Mick Foley then came out. He said these people earned his respect and he'd walk through the gates of hell with them. He chose Kofi, Team Hell No and Orton. They brought up Orton being the most successful all time in Survivor Series. Foley said that he won't be competing at Survivor Series though and brought out Ryback. Foley got some boo's for that and it was kind of a let down that Foley won't wrestle. Everyone brawled in the ring and Punk left quickly. Ryback hit a Shellshock on Cody to Goldberg chants to end the show.

Overall thoughts: The show wasn't bad though the AJ storyline is nonsensical. Nothing really happened here though aside from some challenges being set. I thought the Foley thing was pretty stupid and a tease to something which won't happen, which disappoints me. Overall, this show was a let down mostly due to the end.